The present invention relates generally to printing systems, and more particularly to features to prevent residual ink from coming in contact a printer operator upon installation or removal of an ink container.
Ink jet printers are well known in the art. The most common type of ink jet printer uses thermal excitation of the ink to eject droplets through tiny nozzles, or orifices, onto a print media. Other ink jet mechanisms, such as the use of piezoelectric transducers or wave propagation as ink droplet generators, are also well understood. With all ink jet technologies, the ink jet pen is typically mounted on a carriage which is scanned across the print media; dot matrix manipulation of the droplets provides alphanumeric character and graphics printing capabilities. To provide a color printing capability, pens for each primary color (cyan, magenta, and yellow) are commonly used, typically in addition to black.
The ink jet pen itself may have a self-contained reservoir for storing ink and providing appropriate amounts of ink to the printhead during a printing cycle. These self-contained pens are commonly referred to in the art as print cartridges. If a reusable, semi-permanent pen rather than a print cartridge is employed, ink is either supplied from a remote, off-axis (or off-board), ink reservoir, or the ink reservoir is mounted on the carriage with the pen.
In a typical ink jet printing system with semi-permanent pens and replaceable ink supplies, the replacement ink supplies are generally provided with seals over the fluid interconnects to prevent contamination of the interconnects during distribution and storage. One common sealing method is the use of a removable sealing tape or label. A common problem with the use of sealing tape on fluid interconnects is that the side of tape in contact with the container may become contaminated with residual ink from the fluid interconnect. When the sealing tape is removed for installation of the ink supply into the printer, the residual ink may contact the fingers or clothing of the installer. Great care must therefore be exercised when removing the sealing tape to avoid contact with residual ink.
Residual ink in the fluid interconnect region of a container can also interact with the adhesives used to retain the sealing tape to the container. This interaction can affect the characteristics of the ink in the container, degrading print quality.
There is therefore a need for features which prevent residual ink in the fluid interconnect region of an ink container from contacting the removable seal on the container or the fingers or clothing of the installer.
Embodiments of the present invention comprise geometric features in the fluid interconnect region of an ink container which inhibit residual ink from contacting a removable seal on the container or the fingers and clothing of the container installer.
Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention.